The Secret of Horror Mansion
by Panamint
Summary: A little something I scraped together for October 31. Features guest star Nancy Drew This is my first Hardy Boys story EVER, so be gentle with the reviews, please. Happy Halloween!


The Secret of Horror Mansion

(Ooooh, spooky!)

**Disclaimer:** _I own Horror Mansion, the ghosts and everything else except the most important things—the Hardy boys, their parents and their friends, including Nancy (Drew!). And I think I stole a couple of lines from "Hold that Ghost", and a scene from "The Ghost Breakers", so if you've seen those movies, it might be fun to find the stolen items... heehee... and if you haven't seen them, you'd better go watch them right now or I'll send the ghosts after you. ;-)_

_P.S. One of the bad guy's names was stolen from a Jim Croce song that I just heard on the radio. I know, I'm weird. :-P_

* * *

"Are you sure about this, Joe?" ten-year-old Nancy Drew asked. 

"Yeah," Frank added, sounding uncertain. "There have been some real wacky rumors about this place..."

Joe, who was nine and therefore the youngest of the trio, snorted. "I never would have thought that my older brother, 'intelligent Frank Hardy', would be scared of a _house_. And you don't really believe those wild stories, do you?"

"I'm not scared, and I don't believe the rumors!" Frank answered defensively. "After all, those stories about ghosts are only fairy tales that parents tell their kids to scare them half out of their minds... but did you have to accept Biff's dare without telling ME first?!"

"And did you have to drag me along? Hannah was making my favorite dinner tonight!" Nancy said.

"Yes, I did. Now let's go in!" Joe ordered boldly. He marched up the stairs confidently, seemingly oblivious to their ominous creaking. Frank and Nancy followed slowly and were at the impetuous blond boy's side as he reached for the door.

It flew open by itself. The three children leapt back in surprise.

"Okay, I've changed my mind! Let's get outta here!" Joe yelped. He turned and nearly got away before Frank grabbed his collar.

"It was probably just the wind," Frank told him, still gripping Joe's collar tightly.

"The key word there is 'probably'!" insisted Joe. He grunted as he tried to pull away and added, "I say forget about Biff's dare and spend the night at home where we belong!"

"Now who's scared of a house?" asked Nancy with a grin on her face. Joe glowered at her, puffed up his chest and trotted into the house behind his two older friends.

"Spooky joint," mumbled Joe.

The door slammed shut behind them. Joe yelled again and grabbed Frank's arm tightly.

"Will you let go?!" Frank pried his younger brother's fingers from his arm and jiggled the door-knob of the previously open door. It didn't budge.

"It's locked, isn't it?" Joe asked. "I _knew_ we should've gone home!"

"I told you that in the first place, didn't I?" Frank replied. Joe didn't answer. "Well, we're stuck here now; we might as well investigate."

"Do we gotta?" Joe whined.

"I thought you liked mysteries," Nancy stated.

"But not in a scary old house that's called 'Horror Mansion'!" Joe protested.

"Don't be a wimp."

"I am _not_ a wimp, and don't you dare call me one!!"

"Then quit complaining and help me find a place to spend the night," Frank commanded. Joe sighed as Nancy pushed him forward into the next room.

It appeared to be a parlor, but it was hard to tell through all the dust and cobwebs. The old stone fireplace was crumbling; several pieces fell to the floor and startled the already nervous youngsters. The furniture was covered in sheets that used to be white, but were now gray with age and dust.

"This is as far as I go, folks," Joe proclaimed. "I want to stay close to the door in case I need to make a break for it."

"But it's locked," Frank reminded him.

"Well, if I see any ghosts, it won't be!"

"I for one am not staying in a room with a bunch of old sheets," Nancy informed the two boys. "I'm going upstairs to find me a_ real_ bed!"

"I'll come too," Frank agreed. "You can stay here, little brother. Good night; see you in the morning!"

"Maybe!" giggled Nancy.

They got about halfway to the stairs before Joe's desperate voice reached them: "Don't leave me!"

Joe was beside them in an instant, flashlight quivering in his small hand. Frank just grinned and ascended the stairs with Nancy and Joe not far behind.

The house seemed so much smaller from the outside, Frank thought as they searched for the bedrooms. It hadn't seemed nearly as old, either. Why did that darned little brother of his have to go and get him into this mess anyway? If only he had minded his own business and hadn't been stupid enough to take any dares, they'd be at home in their own beds right about now...

Suddenly, Nancy screamed. Frank and Joe whipped around to see the titian-haired girl staring over the banister at something in the hall downstairs.

"What...?" began Joe as they hastened to her side.

All she could do was point. The boys followed her finger and froze. There, in the hall, was a large metal chest of some sort. The lid was slowly, silently rising without the aid of human hands; the head of a man began to appear. Before any of them knew it, they were watching a semi-transparent figure in antebellum dress, marching slowly towards the front door. It apparently didn't notice the three pairs of stunned eyes staring at it from the upper floor. Then, the ghostly specter turned around rigidly, walked back to its chest and disappeared inside. The lid closed behind it.

There was silence from the banister. No-one could believe what they had just seen.

Except Joe.

"That does it!" he cried abruptly. "You are just about to see me break the world's record for fastest runner!"

"Wait a second," said Frank. He once again grabbed his younger brother by the collar.

"Me, wait? Why?" Joe demanded.

"Because we all know that there is no such thing as ghosts," Frank informed him. "And we're staying right here in this house until we solve this mystery! And the first thing we're going to search is that chest!"

"That's what _you _think!!"

"Yes, that _is_ what we think," Nancy declared. She started down the stairs for the chest. Knowing they couldn't let a girl like Nancy explore a dangerous place all alone, the two boys followed. By the time they reached her, Nancy was trying to shove back the lid of the chest.

"Don't do that," pleaded Joe. "That ghost is liable to come out and—and grab us."

"Don't be a wimp," Frank said.

"I told you not to call me that!" Joe snapped, temporarily forgetting his fears.

"Well, that's what you are."

"Alright. I'll stay," Joe sighed resignedly. "But if you see a pair of pants flying through the air, don't grab 'em."

"Why?"

"_I'll be in 'em!"_

"Will you just help me lift this lid?" Nancy interrupted. Both boys complied. After several grunts and groans, they threw the lid back, banging it against the wall.

They peered inside.

All they saw was a skeleton.

Nancy shuddered. "Now I wish we hadn't looked."

"Look," said Frank in the reasonable tone that always made Joe roll his eyes in exasperation. "There obviously isn't anybody in here, so let's go find the beds."

"Oh, a bed!" cried Joe. "That's what I need—a nice warm bed. To hide under."

"Will you knock it off? You're making me even more nervous," complained Nancy. "And I agree with Frank: there isn't anybody here and we need our sleep."

"Then it's settled," said Frank. "We're all going back upstairs to get a good night's sleep."

"But what if the ghost comes back?" asked Joe in a small, frightened voice.

"There is no such thing as ghosts. We probably just imagined we saw it after all the creepy stories we've heard," Frank told him in a sensible tone.

"He's right," agreed Nancy. "Let's get some sleep."

It didn't take them long to find three separate bedrooms. Joe was adamant in his complaints of not wanting to spend the night alone, but Frank eventually convinced his brother by calling him a wimp for the third time that night.

Both boys fell asleep surprisingly quick, considering what they had just seen. But Nancy couldn't seem to relax. She was quite sure she hadn't imagined the unearthly being downstairs. And what if Joe was right? What if it did—

There was a low moan from somewhere, followed by the clinking of heavy chains. Nancy sat bolt upright in her bed, eyes wide, listening intently. This wasn't Joe or even Frank trying to scare her, was it? No... they wouldn't...

A maniacal laugh pierced the air, making Nancy throw back the covers and go racing madly into Frank's room. She pounced onto the bed, startling the boy awake.

"What the heck do you think you're doing?!" Frank demanded hotly. "You could have killed me, for cryin' out loud!"

"Noises! I heard noises!" cried Nancy.

"Noises?"

"Moans, groans and chains!" she continued, waving her arms in the air. "Laughing, screaming and worst of all those ratting chains!"

"Calm down, Nancy," Frank said. He tried to keep the annoyance out of his voice as he continued, "Joe's fairy stories have just got you worked up, that's all!"

"I HEARD them! I did; I know I did!" Nancy insisted.

"Just go back to bed," sighed Frank, rolling over.

"_Alone?_"

Frank sighed again and ripped the covers off to escort Nancy back to her bed. They were just about to leave the room when a loud yell sounded.

"I told you I heard something!" Nancy exclaimed.

"That didn't sound like a ghost to me," Frank muttered. "That sounded more like—"

"_FRANK! HELP! FRANK?!"_

"That was Joe! Come on!"

Frank grabbed his flashlight and ran down the hall toward the room his brother was occupying. When they opened the door, all they found was an empty room that was in a shambles, and one very important item was missing.

"Joe's gone!" cried Nancy in dismay.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

There was a shocked silence as the pair surveyed the room. The dusty old lamp had smashed to the floor; the nightstand was lying on its side; the note on the floor—

The note on the floor?!

Frank picked up the small piece of parchment. On it were eleven words scrawled in red ink:

This was your first warning.

Leave now or you'll both die!

"Leave?!" Frank repeated. "We can't leave; not now, not that my brother has been kidnapped!"

"But what are we going to do?" Nancy asked shakily. "We don't know who we're up against, or where they've taken Joe. Why, there could be a zillion different places to look!"

But Frank had been looking about the room, and had already spotted the place to go.

He walked up to the wall and pushed it. A door that was about 8 x 10 swung back, revealing a passage with many visible footprints leading into unknown regions of the old house.

"A secret passage!" Nancy breathed.

"And I'll be dollars to doughnuts that that's where the kidnapper took Joe!" added Frank. "Let's go!"

Without hesitation, both children crept into the passage. When they were a good distance away, the door slammed shut behind them.

The tunnel seemed to go on and on forever. Frank figured that they had walked at least a hundred miles before coming to another door, smaller than the first. The footprints had obviously entered the room beyond. The only thing that worried Frank was the fact that there was only one pair of prints, and they were much too big to be Joe's. So, was his brother unconscious and had to be carried through the passage?

_I hope not!_ he thought.

As Frank thought, Nancy tested the door. Surprisingly, it was unlocked. They stepped to the other side and were almost instantly greeted by a small group of bats.

"Yikes!" Nancy cried, ducking. She grabbed the startled Frank's arm and dragged him to the ground with her, insuring he wasn't hit by one of the rapidly beating wings.

After the bats had passed, Frank and Nancy stood up and dusted off their clothes.

"Now what?" Frank asked, still a bit shaken.

"I don't—" Nancy stopped in mid-sentence as her face paled considerably.

"What is it?" said Frank.

He didn't get an answer.

"Hello? Nancy?" Frank passed his hand in front of Nancy's eyes. "Hey, Nan, you look as if you see a ghost!"

"F-Funny you should say that," Nancy stuttered. Frank sighed, and then gasped as he caught sight of what had made his friend so nervous. No more than twenty paces in front of them was a ghostly young woman with blond hair and a faded blue dress. Her feet didn't even touch the ground as she pointed to her right. A slight smile curled her pale pink lips just before she vanished.

"Joe was right! This place _is _haunted!" Frank exclaimed in astonishment.

"Maybe," replied Nancy thoughtfully. "But what I'm concerned about right now is what that... lady... was pointing at and why. Is she trying to help us or what?"

"I don't know, but let's risk it. We have to find Joe!"

Nancy led Frank over to where the mysterious woman had pointed only seconds before. All that seemed to be there was a wall of well-packed dirt. But, since both children were well-read in mystery stories, they knew that there must be some sort of passage leading into another secret room. Sure enough, Frank hand brushed over a hidden spring, revealing a small, poorly-lit room beyond. And, much to their surprise...

"Joe!" the duo cried in unison.

Joe being bound and gagged the way he was, could only squirm around in the chair as best he could.

Frank immediately rushed over to untie his brother while Nancy examined the little room with a flashlight. She was so absorbed in her work that she almost didn't hear Joe saying, "It's about time you got here! I've been tied up for ages!"

In the back of her mind, Nancy could make out the brothers' discussion, but she had found a small brown button on the wall that was much more interesting to her.

"Hey, guys?" she called. "I think I found something."

The Hardy Boys' chattering ceased almost instantly, and they walked over to find out what Nancy was talking about.

As it turned out, Nancy had found a small hidden compartment with a chest in it. It took every ounce of strength she had, but she pulled out the box and laid it on the floor with a ::thunk::.

"What's in it?" Joe asked, crouching.

"Open it and we'll find out," said Frank in a rather sarcastic tone.

"You open it! I'm not taking _any _chances!!"

Frank sighed and opened the chest. It was filled to the brim with dollar bills and gold coins!

"WOW!" they all cried.

"Thank you," a voice behind the kids added. "Now hand it over."

Joe was the first to catch sight of their foe—a tall, dark-haired man with piercing green eyes and, most importantly, a gun in his right hand.

"So you're the one who has been haunting us!" Nancy exclaimed.

"That's right. I needed to get you out of the way so I could continue looking for my great-great-grandfather's treasure." The stranger scowled. "But you refused to leave. I didn't want any killing, but I'm afraid I'll have to dispose of you now that you know."

"Know what?! We don't know anything!" Joe protested.

"I'm afraid you do," the man said, cocking his gun.

"If you're going to kill us," said Frank with amazing calmness. "Then you might as well tell us what's going on."

Their adversary grinned maliciously. "I see no harm in it.

"In about 1861, there was a bushwhacker around these parts named Willy 'Slim' McCoy. One day, my great-great grandfather, one Amos Applebeam, was passing through Bayport on his way home—to South Carolina—after a trip to England. He had that chest of money with him. McCoy killed him and the legend goes that my ancestor's body is still lying around this house somewhere."

_The first ghost, _thought Nancy.

"Then my grandfather's wife, Amelia, found out. She nearly went crazy with grief before poisoning herself."

_The second ghost_, thought Frank.

"The stolen money has been missing ever since then—until now," the man finished.

"You wouldn't want this money," Frank said.

"Don't you just wish I didn't," was the only reply.

"Um... he's right," agreed Nancy. "You don't want this money."

The vicious grin on the gun-toting man suddenly became a glare. "I'm growing impatient. Hand over the money."

"I think the only thing that'll be handed over is your gun, Mister."

All four occupants of the room turned and stared. How had Chief Collig, Carson Drew and Fenton Hardy gotten in here?

"Put your hands up," Bayport's chief of police ordered once again. This time, the man complied. Collig snapped on a pair of handcuffs and marched him out the door.

"Dad!" Joe exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Yeah," Nancy added in equal confusion.

"Just be grateful that Biff told us where you three were."

There was a silence the told the girl and boys that they were going to be in big trouble when they got home.

Finally, Frank said, "It was Joe's fault."

"WHAT?!" Joe protested.

"If you hadn't accepted Biff's dare, we wouldn't have been here in the first place," Nancy explained with a slight scowl.

"Well... at least we helped catch a crook, right?" Joe offered. "And what did you guys mean when you told that fella he didn't want the money? Of course he did!"

"No, he didn't," said Frank. "You remember how he said his great-great-grandfather was from South Carolina, right?"

"So?"

"So," Nancy picked up the story. "All this money is in Confederate currency!"

"Oh," Joe answered, sounding largely disinterested. "Well, I'm sure the museum will be interested in it."

"Say, Dad?" asked Nancy. "Can I ask the prisoner a question?"

"That depends what you want to ask," Carson Drew replied.

"I want to ask about those so-called ghosts. May I?"

"I guess it would be alright."

And so, the Hardys and the Drews left Horror Mansion behind them and walked over to Chief Collig's squad car, where the prisoner was sitting inside with a dark scowl on his face. Joe growled at him and leapt back in surprise when the man growled back.

"Hey, Mister," said Nancy. "How did you get yourself to look like a ghost?"

"Ghost?"

"Yeah. You know—the ghosts of Amos and Amelia Applebeam?"

"Look, young lady, I just wanted the money. I didn't dress up as no ghost, especially not a girl one."

"Then how...?" began Frank. He turned to stare at Joe and Nancy.

"Well," Joe said with a shrug. "I guess there are some mysteries that can never be solved."

The End

* * *

_Okay—I stole a total of one scene from "The Ghost Breakers" and three lines from "Hold that Ghost". To make it easy, the scene had a ghost in it and the lines were all transferred to Joe. Good luck!!! :)_


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